Page 39 of Always Mine

“How dare you hoard the goods!”

“I was trying to surprise you.” Snagging the small, wrapped box from the side pocket, I head back to where he’s still sitting.

“Well, it worked. I’m surprised, now fork it over.” He gives me grabby hands, which only adds to his cuteness.

I do as he asks, passing him the box I’m once seated. I’m nervous. We’ve never given each other anything like this before. What if he thinks it too much? Do boyfriends give each other jewelry? There’s no cliff notes on this kind of thing. So I just went for it.

He gives the box a little shake before unraveling the bow on top, smiling like a loon. “Who wrapped this for you?”

“How do you know I didn’t wrap it?”

“I know you. My gifts are either not wrapped or stuffed into a bag that’s either too small for said gift or entirely too big.” He’s not wrong. One year I gave him a T-shirt that was in a bag big enough to fit a pillow.

“Ma wrapped it.”

He cocks a brow while tearing away the paper. “So is this a big deal?” He’s trying to keep his voice even but the slight hitch to his breathing gives him away. I think he’s nervous too. I don’t know if that’s a good thing or not.

“I wanted to get you something special.”

Once the paper’s gone, he stops moving, eyes glued to the white jewelry box in his hand. “Paxton….”

“Just open it.”

He slides the top up, revealing the white gold chain nestled inside. He makes a little noise, eyes flickering up to mine briefly before going back to the necklace. “Paxton.” His tone is so soft, and I’m practically about to jump out of my skin.

“Do you like it?” I have to ask. Not knowing what’s happening in his head is driving me crazy.

He looks at me, eyes searching mine. I don’t know what he’s looking for but his mouth opens and closes several times before he nods enthusiastically. “Are you serious right now? I love it!”

Pulling it from the box, he holds it up to examine it further before putting it on. It’s a simple white gold chain with a square charm in the middle. On the front is the letter P and on the back is the number thirteen. I wanted to get him something to symbolize how much he meant to me. Something that showed him that he was mine.

He’s been insecure since we started high school. He even tried to push me to date a girl at one point to see if I actually was into him. We got into probably the only real fight we’ve ever gotten into that day. It really bothered me that he doubted my feelings and then tried to get me to break up with him.

Yeah, that’s never going to happen, ever.

He thinks I’m only with him because he’s the one who’s always been there. While the latter is true, the rest couldn’t be further from it. I fell in love with Wyatt because of the person he is. Us being friends forever has nothing to do with it. Is it a bonus? Absolutely, but our friendship didn’t manifest my attraction to guys. He’s worried I’ll change my mind about us one day. We’re young, but it doesn’t make what I’m feeling any less real.

Reaching over, I swipe some hair off his forehead before dropping my fingers to run over the charm. It looks good on him. The white gold works well with his tanned skin.

“Stunning,” I mutter, leaning forward to kiss his lips. I’m so relieved he likes it.

I retreat back to lean against the tree and he follows, settling on my lap. His fingers dance up my chest and collarbone before cupping my cheeks. “I love you.”

His breath fans across my lips and my body shivers at the contact. “I love you too.”

The smile that blooms across his face is everything, and I wrap my arms around his back, pulling him in for a hug. His body feels warm from the sun, making me never want to let him go. I wish time would freeze here so we could stay locked in this moment for a while longer.

Sadly, all good things must come to an end.

FIFTEEN

Wyatt

I can’t decide if I’m ready for Cooper to be back or not. Yeah, I know that sounds shitty, but I’m feeling torn between a thousand emotions right now and I’m struggling with what to do.

On one hand, it’d be really nice to talk through whatever is happening inside my head, vent out all the emotions and frustrations that Paxton has caused, but on the other hand, I’m not so sure talking to Cooper about Paxton would be the best idea.

Even though we were all friends at one point, Cooper was closer to Paxton than me. They played football together through high school so they had more in common. Then Paxton left, which tore me open and Cooper was there to help stitch me back together. We’ve been through a lot over the last three years, which also led to Cooper developing feelings for me. I only know this because he told me one night after way too many drinks.

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